The Office: "Goodbye, Toby"Review

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A proposal, an introduction, a farewell and a revelation in a busy season finale.

By Travis Fickett

While this episode opened with a classic Jim teases Dwight sequence, hearkening back to some of the earlier episodes – the rest of the episode seemed to draw more from the UK origins of the series. There were certainly less jokes per minute, less outright gags and more focus on character beats and story. Add to that the fact that, overall, this is a pretty sad day for most of the Scranton bunch.

First, there's Dwight seeing Angela agree to marry that cad Andy. Then there's the fact that in so doing, Andy stole Jim's big moment; his plan to propose to Pam. A heartsick Toby does his best to get a few pictures with Pam before he flees the country. Meanwhile, we find out that Ryan has been arrested for fraud. It's a shame that so many people who have to deal with working with or for Michael Scott must endure further punishment.

And then there's Michael himself – poor, poor Michael. Steve Carell has developed one of the more fascinating and likely enduring characters that we've seen on television in quite some time. He is, perhaps first and foremost, insufferable. He's a terrible boss, horribly selfish and essentially a socially retarded man-child. Yet – somehow – he's still somewhat lovable and tragically sympathetic. When Michael gets excited about his odd connection with Holly, the new HR rep, you can't help but be excited for him. Then, when he learns that Jan chose to get pregnant from a sperm bank, rather than from Michael – while they were dating - he catches on unusually quick and it's heartbreaking.

Michael meets the newest love of his life.

Amy Ryan is a terrific addition to the cast. While perhaps not a likely choice for a comedy, given her past work on The Wire and Gone, Baby, Gone - she brings a unique touch to this character and the dynamic of the cast. It's hard to figure out Holly immediately. She seems rational – and when she agrees with Michael about Toby being boring – it seems she's just kidding around. But then she seems to actually have things in common with Michael, and actually seems legitimately attracted to him. Jan only ended up with Michael as the result of a downward spiral and something akin to a nervous breakdown. Here's someone who seems normal and STILL likes him!

It's fun to watch Jim make the realization that Dunder Mifflin is actually the perfect place to propose to Pam. It's where all of their big firsts took place, and he plans it well, forking over a bit of cash for fireworks and such. There is a real sense of tension in the episode as the moment builds – and ultimately falls apart when Andy stands up to literally steal the limelight. It's hysterical when Andy says "I don't know, the music, the fireworks. The moment was just right." And of course Angela simply says "Ok," in an unenthusiastic manner because she's just doing this to continue her punishment of Dwight.

It's not clear exactly how this season would have ended up if it wasn't for the writers' strike. Would we still have come to this point, or would this have happened earlier in the season? Now Pam is going to go off to art school – will she quit her job? It'll certainly delay the proposal and complicate things further. And then there's Phyllis catching Dwight and Angela, and Ryan going to jail. There's quite a few interesting threads that remain to be picked up next season, and all of the characters end up in such a way that plenty of questions need answering.